1989

Taylor Swift has another hit on her hands with her newest album “1989.” In this album Swift proves she is a grown-up whose learned the ropes of the industry and is taking control of her own love life.

Swift has become one of the biggest pop artists in the world and she proved it when her fifth album debuted at number one in six countries. The country darling who stole the hearts of America eight years ago in her debut self-titled album has grown into a full-blown pop sensation. Her naïve tunes about finding Mr. Right have shifted to honest, brave songs wondering if “it's gonna be forever/ Or it's gonna go down in flames.” Her heavy country influence and Tim McGraw references have transformed into what Billboard describes as drum programming, synthesizers, pulsating bass and processed backing vocals. The change is working.

Although Swift is growing into a new sound, her relatability has not disappeared. She is still singing about love and, although it is a more mature and less innocent, her audience can still share in her plight.

In the popular track “Blank Space” Swift acknowledges she is not the innocent girl she was in “Fearless.” She has grown into a successful young woman with a lot of intense, high-profile relationships on her record. This song is a dark acknowledgement that time has turned her hopeful infatuation into an acceptance that love is not going to be a fairytale. However, it also plays on irony shown in the music video where Swift acts like an insane, possessive girlfriend illuminating the exaggeration of the media’s portrayal of her. This song shows that Swift has grown up enough to be self-aware, but also to stand up for herself and be self-defined.

The edginess of “Blank Space” is contrasted by songs on the other end of the spectrum “How You Get the Girl” and “This Love.” In these songs listeners get a reminder of the Swift who still believes in true love, even if it doesn’t come easy. “How You Get the Girl” paints a portrait of what every girl wants: a boy to come to her door and say “I want you for worse or for better/I would wait for ever and ever.” Furthermore, “This Love” is a perfect example of the restless desire for beautiful, imperfect love. The chorus – “This love is good, this love is bad/This love is alive back from the dead/These hands had to let it go free/And this love came back to me”—and the more acoustic sound give listeners the wistful feeling Swift is known for.

Critics may say Swift is straying too far from her country roots or her intimate, sometimes dramatic lyrics are over the top, but these are both things that have made Swift a success. Even in her earliest albums she was not the typical country artist and has been pushing the bounds of the genre. Likewise, “1989” does not fit the pop stereotype with R&B and hip hop influence but has a more 1980s take on pop. It is not country or mainstream pop; it is a brand all its own which is why it appeals so deeply to its audience.

 The appeal can also be attributed to Swift’s honesty on her albums. Her fans love the intimacy with their idol and those who aren’t fans are interested to see what she will reveal next. Although it is her greatest critique, Swift’s honesty and vulnerability keep people talking about her and listening to her. Swift breaks the norm of what is expected of artists in music today in how much of her personal life is public, but this is the very thing that sets her apart and make it impossible for us to let her go. Her unique style is irreplaceable.

Swift and her musical style have reached maturity in “1989.” She has left the country music characteristics behind and blossomed into a pop artist who combines edge with wistfulness to shake up the music industry and make people talk.

There is no stopping Swift as she kicks off her “1989” world tour May 5 in Tokyo. Swift will do three shows at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis in September, tickets went on sale Nov. 21 and can be purchased at TicketMaster.com.

So this is not really a typical post for me... At all. Writing a review was an assignment I had for my Persuasive Writing class I am taking and this is the result! I am posting it here simply because I love Taylor Swift and I worked hard on the assignment so having people read it makes it worthwhile! Thank you for taking a break for my usual content to give me an audience for my assignment :)